Daimler AG
| foundation = 1998 | predecessor = Daimler-Benz | location = Stuttgart, Germany | key_people = Dieter Zetsche (CEO and Chairman of the management board), Manfred Bischoff (Chairman of the supervisory board) | industry = Automotive | products = Automobiles, commercial vehicles (list of brands...) | area_served = Worldwide | revenue = €106.54 billion (2011) | operating_income = €8.755 billion (2011) | net_income = €5.667 billion (2011) | assets = €148.132 billion (2011) | equity = €41.34 billion (2011) | num_employees = 267,274 (2011) | owner = Aabar Investments (9.04%) Kuwait Investment Authority (6.9%) Renault-Nissan Alliance (3.1%) | homepage = daimler.com | intl = yes }} Daimler AG ( ; formerly DaimlerChrysler) is a German multinational automotive corporation. Daimler AG is headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm. The company also owns major stakes in aerospace group EADS and Japanese truck maker Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation. Daimler produces cars and trucks under the brands of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Smart, Freightliner and many others. History Daimler AG is a German manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and engines, which dates back more than a century. An Agreement of Mutual Interest was signed on May 1, 1924 between Benz & Cie (founded 1883) of Karl Benz and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (founded 1890) of Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Both companies continued to manufacture their separate automobile and internal combustion engine brands until, on June 28, 1926, when Benz & Cie. and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft AG formally merged—becoming Daimler-Benz AG—and agreed that thereafter, all of the factories would use the brand name of Mercedes-Benz on their automobiles. In 2007, when the Chrysler group was sold off to Cerberus Capital Management (see below), the name''Press release by Tata Group'' Jaguar now shares the rights to the Daimler name with Daimler AG, the German car manufacturer created when DaimlerChrysler was split up. Jaguar agreed terms in 2007 which allow the German company to use the Daimler brand as the title of a trading company, a trade name or a corporate name — rights that it did not hold previously. The renegotiated terms did not affect Jaguar's rights to build Daimler cars. A spokesman for Jaguar said: “The extended usage agreement does not affect either company's existing right to use the Daimler name for a product.” — The Times 28 July 2008. of the parent company was changed to simply "Daimler AG". Timeline of Daimler AG Benz & Company, 1883–1926 Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft AG, 1890–1926 Daimler-Benz AG, 1926–1998 DaimlerChrysler AG, 1998–2007 Daimler AG, 2007–present Merger with Chrysler In a so-called "Merger Of Equals" Daimler-Benz AG and the American automobile manufacturer Chrysler Corporation merged in 1998 in an exchange of shares, and formed DaimlerChrysler AG. The terms of the merger allowed Daimler-Benz's non-automotive businesses such as Daimler-Benz InterServices AG (Debis) (created in 1989 to handle data processing, financial and insurance services, and real estate management for the Daimler group) to continue to pursue their respective strategies of expansion. Debis reported revenues of $ 8.6 bn (DM 15.5 bn) in 1997. Troubled relationship The merger was contentious with investors launching lawsuits over whether the transaction was the 'merger of equals' that senior management claimed or actually amounted to a Daimler-Benz takeover of Chrysler. A class action investor lawsuit was settled in August 2003 for US$300 million while a suit by billionaire investor activist Kirk Kerkorian was dismissed on April 7, 2005. The transaction claimed the job of its architect, Chairman Jürgen E. Schrempp, who resigned at the end of 2005 in response to the fall of the company's share price following the transaction. The merger was also the subject of a book Taken for a Ride: How Daimler-Benz Drove Off With Chrysler, (2000) by Bill Vlasic and Bradley A. Stertz. Another issue of contention is whether the merger delivered promised synergies and successfully integrated the two businesses. As late as 2002, DaimlerChrysler appeared to run two independent product lines. Later that year, the company launched products that appear to integrate elements from both sides of the company, including the Chrysler Crossfire, which was based on the Mercedes SLK platform and utilized Mercedes's 3.2L V6, and the Dodge Sprinter/Freightliner Sprinter, a re-badged Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. Sale of Chrysler Chrysler had suffered a series of setbacks in recent years, culminating in DaimlerChrysler's agreement to sell the unit to Cerberus Capital Management in May 2007 for US$6 billion. Through most of its history, Chrysler has been the third largest of the "Big 3" U.S. automakers, but in January 2007, DaimlerChrysler, excluding its luxury Mercedes and Maybach lines, also outsold traditionally second place Ford, though behind General Motors and Toyota. In the middle of the past decade, the merger began to take a turn for the worse. Due to Daimler's reluctance to allow Chrysler to continue development and use quality materials , Chrysler vehicles suffered lower fit and finish quality as well as sub-standard parts being supplied and used in spite of concerns . Although the resulting vehicles produced were still adequate, they were generally not on par with the competition. Chrysler reported losses of US$1.5 billion in 2006. It then announced plans to lay off 13,000 employees in mid-February 2007, close a major assembly plant and reduce production at other plants in order to restore profitability by 2008. DaimlerChrysler had reportedly approached other carmakers and investment groups to sell Chrysler in early 2007. General Motors was reported to be a suitor while Volkswagen, the Renault-Nissan auto alliance, and Hyundai Motor Company had said that they weren't interested in buying the company. On August 3, 2007, DaimlerChrysler completed the sale of Chrysler Group to Cerberus Capital Management. The original agreement stated that Cerberus would take an 80.1 percent stake in the new company, Chrysler Holding LLC. DaimlerChrysler changed its name to Daimler AG and retained the remaining 19.9% stake in the separated Chrysler. The terms saw Daimler pay Cerberus US$650 million to take Chrysler and associated liabilities off its hands. Of the US$7.4 billion purchase price, Cerberus Capital Management will invest US$5 billion in Chrysler Holdings and US$1.05 billion in Chrysler’s financial unit. The de-merged Daimler AG received US$1.35 billion directly from Cerberus but directly invested US$2 billion in Chrysler itself. Since Chrysler's 2009 bankruptcy filing in the United States, Chrysler has been controlled by Italian automaker Fiat, which unlike Daimler plans to integrate Chrysler's products into the Fiat portfolio, most notably Lancia and Chrysler's namesake brand. Despite the fact it had been nearly four years after the Daimler/Chrysler split, the fourth-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee shares a platform with the Mercedes-Benz M-Class . Renault-Nissan and Daimler Alliance On April 7, 2010 Renault-Nissan executive, Carlos Ghosn and Dr. Dieter Zetsche announced a partnership between the three companies in a joint press conference. Corporate affairs Management Dr. Dieter Zetsche has been the Chairman of Daimler and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars since January 1, 2006 as well as member of Board of Management since 1998. He was former President and CEO of the Chrysler, LLC (previously owned by Daimler AG), he may be best known in the United States as Dr. Z from a Chrysler advertising campaign called "Ask Dr. Z". Current members of the Board of Management of Daimler AG are: *Dr. Dieter Zetsche: Chairman of the Board as well as Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. *Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard: Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Procurement and Production. *Wilfried Porth: Head of Human Resources and Labor Relations. *Andreas Renschler: Head of Daimler Trucks. *Bodo Uebber: Head of Finance and Controlling as well as Financial Services. *Dr. Thomas Weber: Head of Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. Current members of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG are: Heinrich Flegel, Juergen Hambrecht, Thomas Klebe, Erich Klemm, Arnaud Lagardère, Jürgen Langer, Helmut Lense, Sari Baldauf, William Owens, Ansgar Osseforth, Valter Sanches, Manfred Schneider, Stefan Schwaab, Bernhard Walter, Lynton Wilson, Mark Wössner, Manfred Bischoff, Clemens Börsig and Uwe Werner. Dr Manfred Bischoff serves as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG and Erich Klemm as Vice-Chairman. Shareholder profile by Ownership *Kuwait Investment Authority (Kuwait): 36.7% *Renault (France): 1.55% *Nissan (Japan): 1.55% *Institutional investors: 41.2% *Private Investors: 19.1% by Region 36.7% Kuwait 28.2% German 36.9% Europe ex-Germany 11.9% United States 9.0% United Arab Emirates 3.6% Others Brands Daimler sells automobiles under the following marques worldwide: * Mercedes-Benz Cars ** Maybach ** Mercedes-Benz ** Smart ** Mercedes-AMG * Daimler Trucks ** Commercial vehicles *** Freightliner *** Mercedes-Benz (truck group) *** Mitsubishi Fuso *** Thomas Built Buses *** Sterling Trucks - operations winded down in 2010, but will continue to support authorized dealers and vehicle owners *** Western Star *** BharatBenz ** Components *** Alliance Truck Parts *** Detroit Diesel *** Mercedes-Benz *** Mitsubishi Fuso * Daimler Buses **Mercedes-Benz buses **Orion Bus Industries - operations winded down in 2012, expected to close in 2013 **Setra * Mercedes-Benz Vans **Mercedes-Benz (vans group) *Daimler Financial Services **Mercedes-Benz Bank **Mercedes-Benz Financial **Daimler Truck Financial * Others **Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (Builds engines for Formula 1 Racing) Holdings Daimler currently holds interests in the following companies: *85.0% Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation of Japan *50.1% Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation of Canada *22.4% European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) - the parent company of Airbus of Europe *50% Engine Holding Rolls Royce holds the other 50% *49% Tognum of Germany due to the 50% share in Engine Holding, which holds 98% of the Tognum Shares. *11% KAMAZ of Russia *7.8% Tesla Motors of United States At the end of 2011 McLaren Group completely bought back the stocks from Daimler. Partners Daimler has built 1,000 all-electric versions of its Smart Fortwo using Tesla's battery technology. Daimler works with China's Beiqi Foton (a subsidiary of BAIC) to build Auman trucks, and with BYD to develop EV technology. Alternative propulsion Biofuel research Daimler AG is involved in a joint project with Archer Daniels Midland Company and Bayer CropScience to develop the semi-evergreen shrub jatropha curcas as a biofuel. Transport electrification Carmaker Daimler AG and the utility company RWE AG were set in 2009 to begin a joint electric car and charging station test project in the German capital, Berlin, called "E-Mobility Berlin".http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/3e8bc7ee811bd771be83c3bf1960bbbc.htm Mercedes-Benz is launching its first passenger car model equipped with a hybrid drive system in summer 2009, the Mercedes-Benz S 400 HYBRID. Daimler Trucks is the world market leader in hybrid systems. With its “Shaping Future Transportation” initiative, Daimler is pursuing hybrid propulstion for buses as well. The Mitsubishi Fuso “Aero Star Eco Hybrid” is now setting new standards in practical trials in Japan.http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1096051-1-1096078-1-0-0-0-0-0-14972-876574-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html Formula 1 On November 16, 2009 Daimler purchased a 75.1% stake in Brawn GP. The company was rebranded as Mercedes GP. Ross Brawn will remain team principal and the team will be based in Brackley, UK. However the purchase of Brawn meant that Daimler back its stake in McLaren in stages that ended in 2011. Mercedes will continue to provide sponsorship and engines to McLaren until 2015. Mercedes owns 45.1% of the new company with 30% for Aabar Investments and 24.9% for Ross Brawn. The racing team has signed the former champion Michael Schumacher. Notes References External links * Category:Companies founded in 1883 Category:German brands Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany Category:Bus manufacturers of Mexico Category:Truck manufacturers of Mexico Category:Car manufacturers of Germany *